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[WJV031]

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[Turkishking]

No

 

[theseeker4]

Hello,

I'm a freshman at Berkeley majoring in EECS - there's not much room in my schedule for pre-med courses, and if I did take them along with my schedule I'd probably get my ass kicked.

Would it be acceptable to take all my pre-reqs at community college (Chem, Physics, Bio, Organic Chemistry) over the summer and use those to apply to medical school? The community college exams look like cake compared to the ones administered at Berkeley and I'm pretty sure I could pull a 4.0 while still having a lot of time for internships/work or other things.

You could do it, but it will be obvious that you are intentionally avoiding the difficult courses. Some schools might not care, but you won't be fooling anyone, and some schools definitely will care and will hold it against you.

 

[libertyyne]

No,

 

[dinomite00]

Even looking past care vs. don't care, some schools will not accept CC credit for these courses to begin with so you would be closing doors for yourself in that regard as well

 

[libertyyne]

Hello,

I'm a freshman at Berkeley majoring in EECS - there's not much room in my schedule for pre-med courses, and if I did take them along with my schedule I'd probably get my ass kicked.

Would it be acceptable to take all my pre-reqs at community college (Chem, Physics, Bio, Organic Chemistry) over the summer and use those to apply to medical school? The community college exams look like cake compared to the ones administered at Berkeley and I'm pretty sure I could pull a 4.0 while still having a lot of time for internships/work or other things.

Maybe take some of your EECS classes during the summer or winter and take the pre-reqs during normal semesters ?

 

[efle]

Don't do that

 

[NeuResurgens]

Nope. Schools will see it for exactly what it is - an effort to take easier classes in order to get better grades - and they don't look favorably on what they see as "cutting corners."

 

[LutGholein]

OP, they care. They will know.

I thought this was neurotic long ago-- I had taken a few cc courses(not prereqs) in the beginning of my collegiate journey --a few philosophy and history courses(I'm very fond these subjects).

Not once was this ever brought up until I had an interview not too long ago for some US MD school and in the middle of this interview the interviewer point blank mentioned "we like to ask students if they took prereqs at cc courses-- what was the reasoning? -- it looks like you didn't so we'll move on to the next question".

I'm a believer now.

 

[libertyyne]

I'd like to do that, but CC credits aren't accepted for most of the classes for my major. Also I'd probably die from taking pre-med courses at Berkeley - EECS courses over the summer/winter aren't much better.


Couldn't I cite a love for CS as my reasoning for taking CC courses? Not only is it difficult to get into all of the medical school pre-req classes while also signing up for EECS courses at Berkeley, it's even harder to fit it all into a schedule and graduate in 4 years.


What if there's a good reason for it, or if I took just half of my pre-reqs at CC and took, say, Physics at Berkeley?

Look at your gen Ed requirements. You should be able to take a bunch of those at cc without anyone batting an eye. Also look at transfer agreements as there are some classes that the 4 year will accept coming from the cc. The only other option is taking an extra year and finishing up your major's classes. Also, word to the wise, engineering majors are known to murder gpa's.

 

[theseeker4]

I'd like to do that, but CC credits aren't accepted for most of the classes for my major. Also I'd probably die from taking pre-med courses at Berkeley - EECS courses over the summer/winter aren't much better.

Couldn't I cite a love for CS as my reasoning for taking CC courses? Not only is it difficult to get into all of the medical school pre-req classes while also signing up for EECS courses at Berkeley, it's even harder to fit it all into a schedule and graduate in 4 years.

What if there's a good reason for it, or if I took just half of my pre-reqs at CC and took, say, Physics at Berkeley?

Sorry, but your complaints aren't going to make adcoms make exceptions for you. Saying it is too hard to do the work wont win anyone over. Saying you cant graduate in 4 years if you keep your current major wont make them sympathetic to you. You can always take longer to graduate, take the pre reqs after graduation, or change your major so you can fit the pre reqs in. No, a love for CS wont hold any water, since you are applying to medical school, not furthering your CS education.

Why do you think you would "probably die" if you take the pre-med courses at Berkeley? If you cant handle pre-reqs for med school, at pretty much any university, what makes you think you would do well in medical school itself? Do you think med school is easier than the pre reqs?

You also dont seem to be grasping the fact that many schools wont accept your pre reqs from cc's at all, and others will strongly look down on you for trying that. No, there is no way you can reason med schools into changing how they view cc credits. If you really cant manage to get a's in the pre reqs in your current program, either change your major, or plan to take the pre-reqs at a university (not a cc) after you graduate.

 

[aldol16]

Bad idea. You shouldn't take multiple pre-reqs at a CC unless you have a very good reason for it, much less all of your pre-reqs. A "good reason" might be that you had to take a couple semesters off from your university and take classes at a CC because you couldn't afford it anymore. Or perhaps you had to take a certain pre-req within a certain time period before you could take a required upper-division course in that subject. Even then, there's no guarantee that you will get the chance to explain it.